


Stay

by loveforhockey



Category: Hockey RPF
Genre: Clinging, Crying, Doesn't want to leave Riley, Hospitals, Hurt/Comfort, Injury, M/M, Mentors, Rookie Year, Separation Anxiety, poor dylan
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-04
Updated: 2016-08-04
Packaged: 2018-07-29 06:41:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,069
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7674019
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/loveforhockey/pseuds/loveforhockey
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Riley’s heart stops when he sees it. He can’t fucking breathe. His rookie, his sweet little rookie, is laying motionless on the ice.</p><p>Dylan gets injured and doesn't want Riley to leave him</p>
            </blockquote>





	Stay

**Author's Note:**

> This never actually happened, mentions of injury and hospitals but no blood or anything graphic
> 
> Title from Florida Georgia Line's 'Stay'
> 
> Written as a request

Riley’s heart stops when he sees it. He can’t fucking breathe. His rookie, his sweet little rookie, is laying motionless on the ice.

Dylan had gone to pull the puck off the boards, using his speed to get there first and using his body to shield the puck. Three feet away from the boards, Dylan was just about to turn and pass, but instead was brutally hit from behind. His body hit the boards full force, feeling the entire impact of the illegal hit. 

Play stopped immediately. Riley had to watch from the bench as the medical team rushed to Dylan’s side. He was able to move, but severely in pain. The arena fell silent, all the air being sucked out as a stretcher made it’s way on the ice, Dylan carefully being loaded on.

Before he could move to follow, one of the trainers called his name and nodded his head towards the locker room. A glance to coach confirmed he had permission to leave, there were only ten minutes left in the game and the entire team knew how scared Dylan was of doctors.

“No!” Dylan wailed. “Please! No, please wait for him!” He was screaming through deep sobs, loud enough that Riley could here it walking down the tunnel, picking up his pace.

He started ripping off his gear, completely out of his upper pads when he got to the locker room. Once again, the breath was taken from his lungs when he saw Dylan. The kid was squirming on the stretcher, trying to get up and hyperventilating as trainers all around him worked to calm him as you would a spooked horse and take his gear off. Tears striped his face, obvious signs of the fear and pain Dylan was experiencing.

“Riley!” He screamed as soon as his mentor stepped into sight. His struggling picked up, another trainer coming over to still him. Riley rushed over immediately.

“Shh, shh. Dylan, I’m right here. You’re ok, I promise.” He said sitting down in the stall closest to Dylan’s stretcher and undoing his skates.

“I don’t want to go to the hospital! Riley, please don’t make me go!” His voice shook, breaking Riley’s heart. A trainer came over, sitting down next to Riley and pulling him close to whisper in his ear.

“He needs to go to the hospital. He doesn’t have a concussion but probably broke his clavicle or ribs.”

“Is he going to be ok?” Riley whispered, quickly glancing at Dylan, still crying and squirming.

“Yes, but we need to go to the hospital but he’s refusing to go without you so--

“Yes, yeah. I’m going. For sure” Riley nodded, reaching back down to finish untying his skates and sliding them off.

“Riley...” Dylan cried, desperately reaching for him. “I don’t want to go.”

“I know sweetie,” Riley looked Dylan in the eye, reaching over and gently rubbing his shoulder, careful not to disturb anything that might be broken. “but you’re hurt and they need to take a look at you.”

“Are you coming with me?” Dylan choked out around his sobs.

“Of course, Dylan.” Riley reached up to wipe away the tears gathering on Dylan’s cheeks with his thumb, a small effort to calm the shaking rookie.

The medical staff and trainers finished striping Dylan out of his gear, leaving him only in his under armor and compression sports when they loaded him into the ambulance. Riley, in sweat pants and a hoodie followed, quieting Dylan’s whimpers and sobs, which only got worse when he stepped out to get in his own car to follow them to the hospital.

“No! Please don’t leave!” Dylan screeched, trying to sit up again only to wince in pain.

“Dylan, sweetheart, I need to drive so I can take us home once you get fixed up.” Riley combed the sweaty curls off Dylan’s forehead with gentle fingers and pressed a soft kiss to the warm skin.

“Please.” Dylan replied with big, blue, tear filled eyes. He was already in enough pain, the last thing Riley wanted was for him to be scared.

“Ok, I’ll get Luke to pick us up.” Dylan relaxed a little at that, reaching his hand out to take hold of Riley’s as the ambulance started to pull out of Joe Louis Arena’s driveway.

Because Dylan wasn’t in critical near death condition, the ambulance drove at normal speed with out lights and sirens, which would have freaked the kid out even more. Riley stayed next to him the entire ride, letting Dylan squeeze his hand as the medical staff ran around him poking at his torso. 

He was a wreck when they finally arrived at the hospital, shaking on the examination table as trainers checked him in, waiting for the doctor to come in.

“Riley...” Dylan squeaked, giving Riley a look that made his heart break for the hundreth time that night. Dylan was only 19, a rookie. He didn’t deserve any of this just because of an illegal hit. “What are they going to do to me?”

“The trainers think you broke a few ribs so they’re probably just going to ask you a few questions and give you an X-ray.”

“Ok.” He sniffled, perking up at the sound of the door opening and closing, a Doctor with a clipboard walking in.

“Mr. Larkin, Mr. Sheahan, I’m Doctor Flanagin. I here you got injured playing hockey.” He introduced himself. “Your trainers tell me they’ve already examined you so we can start X-rays immediately. Dylan nodded following the doctor out of the room, only slightly wincing in pain, Riley right behind him until they got to the room where X-rays are done.

“Are you coming?” He squeaked, looking over his shoulder to his mentor.

“I can’t go in there but I’ll be right here when you come back.” Dylan bit his lip, still standing in front of the door, looking unsure and about to cry. “I’m gonna stay right here, I promise. They’re not gonna hurt you, Dylan, it will be ok.” Riley pulled him into a gentle hug, careful of anything that might be broken then ushering Dylan through the door finally.

Fifteen minutes later, the doctor came back out, inviting Riley in once all the radiation was turned off. The room was dark, except for an illuminated surface lined with the dark X-ray sheets displaying lit up images of what looked like a rib cage. With a very obvious break in two places.

“After performing a series of X-rays we located two fractures in his lower ribs on the left side, but his clavicle and everything else seems to be fine.” The doctor announced, pointing to the breaks displayed by the X-ray. “The good news is that we do not need to reset any of his bones to heal properly, but Dylan will have to stay in the hospital over night. Sometimes these things can lead to problems with tendons, which could be extremely painful, or complications with his lungs that could effect breathing. The breaks are in an area where a cast isn’t effective, so it’s best to limit his torso movement as much as possible.”

Dylan looks like he is about ready to burst into tears again, sitting as comfortably as he can with two broken ribs in a chair in the corner of the room. Riley shoots him a sympathetic glance before turning his attention back to the doctor.

“But he’s going to be ok?”

“Of course. Everything is set to heal good as new, but it will take some time. I’ll talk to your teams medical staff about recovery but first we’ll get you set up in a room for the night.” Riley nodded, gently grabbing his rookie’s hand and following the doctor to Dylan’s hospital room.

“I want to go home, Riley.” Dylan whined once they were by them selves again and Dylan was changed out of his sweaty clothes, half way under the covers in his hospital bed. Riley sat next to him, trying to do what ever he could so Dylan didn’t cry again.

“I know, but they are only keeping you one night for observation.”

“Everything hurts so bad.” He whimpered on the verge of tears. Dylan usually sleeps on his side but that was out of the question with his broken ribs. He fidgeted around more, trying to find a comfortable position and adjusting the blankets.

“Dylan, kiddo, don’t move around so much, it’s only going to hurt more.” Riley said, gently resting a hand on Dylan’s shoulder and halting his squirming. Dylan huffed but finally laid back. Broken bones don’t usually start to hurt until a few hours after, so Dylan must be in some pretty bad pain right now. “Try to sleep ok?” It was late. They all needed sleep but Riley was willing to spend the entire night at Dylan’s side.

“Are you going to leave? Please don’t leave me.” He whimpered.

“Of course not, but it’s really late and you need sleep.” Riley said, petting Dylan’s hair as he tried to get comfortable. Tonight was an evening game, meaning it was closer to 2 am now, too late for either of them if you ask Riley.

“Goodnight.” Dylan mumbled into the pillow.

“Goodnight, Dyl.” Riley smiled when Dylan reached his arm out to grab one of Riley’s, pulling it close to himself and drifting off to sleep.

 

Hospital chairs are not exactly the most comfortable things to sleep in, which would explain why Riley woke up much earlier than he usually would have. Dylan was still dead asleep in the bed next to him, and still clutching Riley’s arm. It was kinda cute, but he needed to get up and walk around. Dylan really was in a deep sleep, not flinching at all when Riley pulled his arm out of his grasp.

Coffee, was the first thing that Riley thought as he stood up. Dylan was asleep, and there was a Tim Hortons within the grounds of the hospital, he wouldn’t be gone long.

Riley was sure to order the rookie his favorite drink as well as a chocolate sprinkle donut because he deserved it even though it wasn’t in his diet plan, but neither is breaking two ribs so...

Donuts and Coffee in hand, Riley made his way back to Dylan’s room only to be halted in shock at what he saw. Dylan was thrashing around, desperately trying to get up and out of the bed as two nurses at his side tried to get him settled and calmed down.

“No! He left me! Riley left me!” Dylan screamed through tears, which was probably Riley’s cue to enter.

“Dylan, Dylan, no. Shh.” Riley said, setting the coffee down on a table in the room and rushing to Dylan’s side. 

“Riley!” Dylan reached for him and Riley easily complied, letting himself be pulled into Dylan’s arms as best as he could still laying down. “You left.” He cried into Riley’s shoulder,

“I know, I’m so, so, sorry. I thought you were still asleep.” Riley replied, rubbing Dylan’s shaking back and nodding to the nurses that he has everything under control now.

“Please don’t leave again.” He sniffled, pulling back to look at Riley.

“I promise I won’t, I just went to get coffee, I’m sorry.” He handed Dylan his double double and chocolate donut, watching the rookie’s face light up the brightest it had since the game.

“Thanks.” He smiled.

“Anytime, I thought it might make you feel a little better.” They were interrupted by the sound of the door opening and the same doctor from the night before coming in.

“Mr. Larkin is able to be discharged. He’s not showing any symptoms of further damage and everything is set to heal.”

They both smiled at the good news, Dylan with a little bit of chocolate frosting stuck on the tip of his nose.

 

“Thank you.” Dylan said as they were sitting on the couch watching TV later that night.

“For what?” Riley asked, lifting up his arm so Dylan could slump into his shoulder.

“For taking care of me. At the hospital and stuff. I know I was kinda pathetic.” He blushed.

“Oh, you’re welcome, and it wasn’t pathetic. I would be scared too. I’m just glad my little rookie is ok.” Dylan hummed happily, allowing Riley to press a kiss into his hair. Yeah, he will be ok.

**Author's Note:**

> All comments and Kudos are greatly appreciated!


End file.
